April 1, 2011
On Campus with Nashville, Tenn. – Facing the Commodores’ second full-contact scrimmage of the spring on Saturday, Vanderbilt Head Coach James Franklin put his squad through a two-hour session Thursday aimed at tempo and preparation for the weekend activity.
The Commodores sprinkled in position and 1-on-1 drills around periods devoted to the rushing and passing attacks in a practice that limited contact. The team concluded with a lengthy 11-on-11 segment that stressed schemes coming Saturday in the scrimmage.
“The practice today was a little bit different, kind of like a pro practice,” Franklin said. “We have some depth issues, and I want to make sure we have an opportunity to learn and get better and be able to scrimmage well on Saturday.”
The Commodores got plenty out of the practice, the coach said.
“I feel like I have have old-school mentality, so I have a hard time not coming out here and going full speed and flying around,” Franklin said. “But on the same hand, I do think you can get plenty accomplished if the guys understand how to practice. We did that today.”
Expectations for scrimmage
More than anything, Franklin wants to see his Commodores continue to compete and reduce mistakes on Saturday.
“I just want them to continue to compete,” Franklin said. “We did that last Saturday and we’ve done pretty well all spring. When we go into the stadium, I want them to know it’s something special. I want to see them get after each other.
“At the same time, we have to start eliminating the missed assignments, the mental errors, the fumbled snaps, the dropped passes, the dropped interceptions. When we have a chance to make a play, we’ve got to make it,” Franklin said.
Position Changes for Two Defenders
Two Commodore juniors, Dexter Daniels and Al Owens, will get snap at two defensive positions Saturday. Daniels, a former linebacker, has shifted to defensive end. Owens, a former safety, has moved to linebacker.
Thom Abraham Show Remote Delayed One Week
Due to technical difficulties in McGugin Athletics Center, the syndicated Thom Abraham Show did not broadcast from practice Thursday as originally scheduled. The remote has been rescheduled to next Thursday, April 7.